Lost and Found
by Juze
Summary: A child lost in the mall, a single father hounded by guilt, and a woman with abandonment issues. Can they help find one another or will the process be too painful? AH BxE


**Lost and Found Chapter 1**

It was the sound that first caught her attention. Beyond the cacophony of shoppers' voices that filled the passageways between the shops, there was a faint mewling sound. At first, she thought that it might have been a small animal, like a cat, but as she focused her ears, she could make out the muffled cries of a child. Following the sound, she found a small boy tucked into a corner. His knees were drawn up, and his face was buried in them. He looked no older than five or six years.

She looked around anxiously. Surely the child was not there alone. But as she scanned the crowd around her, she could find no one who appeared to be looking for a child. There were happy faces, annoyed faces, tired faces, and laughing faces, but not a single one looked frantic or concerned. Looking back at the boy, she wondered what to do. Children were never really her thing. Should she go get help? What if she left to find security and a kidnapper came and stole the child? She knew there was no way she could live with herself if she allowed something like that to happen, no matter how slim the likelihood of it actually happening.

Swallowing her nervousness and praying she wouldn't be confused for a pedophile, she leaned down towards the boy.

"Excuse me. Are you okay?"

The boy shook his head that was still buried in his knees, his cries momentarily quieting.

"Can I help you? Are you lost?"

This time, the boy nodded, still keeping his face hidden.

"Why don't you come with me? I'll take you to where we can find your mommy."

At this, his head shot up, revealing beautiful dark eyes on an adorable face. "You'll help me find my mommy?"

"Sure. Let's just go to the lost and found and see if they can track her down." She held out her hand to help him up, but he just stared at it.

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," he told her, curling into himself even more.

"That's always a good idea." She withdrew her hand, berating herself for her thoughtlessness. "Tell you what," she said, coming up with an idea, "let's not be strangers. My name is Bella. What's your name?"

He stared at her cautiously. "Jacob."

"Nice to meet you, Jacob," she smiled. "Now that we're not strangers anymore, can I help you find your mom?"

Jacob smiled, for the first time since she started talking to him. "Okay." He put his hand trustingly inside of her own and stood up. He held onto her tightly as they wound their way through the busy walkway towards the nearest department store. Heading up to the security office, Jacob began telling her all about playing baseball and playing with his friends, and his teacher, Miss Angela. Bella listened with rapt attention, grateful that he was chatty and she didn't have to try and think of questions to ask him in order to fill the silence.

Once they reached the lost and found area, she knelt down again to Jacob's eye level.

"Okay, sweetie, do you know your mom's name?"

"Mommy."

Bella sighed. "Okay. Do you know your last name?"

"Cullen," Jacob announced proudly.

"Good. Now, do you remember where you were when you last saw your mom?"

Unexpectedly, his face crumpled, and the tears started to flow again.

"Alright, alright," she soothed, awkwardly rubbing his back in an attempt to calm him down. "We'll just tell the nice people at the desk that we need to look for your mom."

Stepping over to the lady behind the desk, who had been watching the entire exchange curiously, Bella explained the situation. The lady responded by sending out a call over the PA system regarding 'the party of Jacob Cullen.'

Relieved that her part of the job was over, Bella began to leave, when she felt a sudden pull on her hand. Looking down, she saw that Jacob had reattached himself to her with seemingly no intention of letting her go.

"Would you like me to stay until she gets here?" She knew the question was largely rhetorical, but he nodded his head anyway in earnest. Giving him a warm smile, she led him over to the convenience chairs to sit and wait for his mother to come.

After what seemed like hours, but was in fact closer to twenty minutes, they heard frantic footsteps charging towards the waiting area. Around the corner came a man who could only be described as gorgeous. Even out of breath and disheveled, he looked exceedingly handsome. As soon as Jacob saw him, he shot out of his chair yelling, "Daddy!" as he rushed towards him.

_Of course,_ Bella thought. _No man that handsome could be single._ After that selfish thought came another that was slightly more redeemable. _I wonder where Jacob's mother is?_

She watched as the man embraced his child for an extended moment before holding him at arm's length to check that he was okay. Once he seemed satisfied that all was in order, he looked around the room, seeming to notice for the first time that he was not alone with his son. Jacob lost no time in grabbing his father's hand and leading him towards Bella.

"Daddy, come meet Bella. She's my new friend."

Bella held out her hand, which he gratefully took, giving her a small smile of thanks.

"Hi, I'm Bella," she introduced herself.

"Edward," he replied. "Thank you so much for looking after Jake. I've been worried sick about him." His voice sounded warm and soothing. It conjured up images of being curled up beside him on a couch with a roaring fire at their feet.

"It was no problem," she assured with a smile as she attempted to tamp down her attraction. "You have a wonderful boy there."

He looked fondly down at his son, ruffling his hair affectionately. "Well, I sure think so," he agreed.

Jacob looked up at his father excitedly. "Dad, guess what? Bella says that she's going to help us find Mom!"

Bella watched in surprise as Edward's face was pulled down into a look of complete sadness as he knelt down to his son's eye level. "Jake," he said lowly, "you know she can't do that. Mom is gone. She's not coming back, sweetheart."

Jake's face contorted into a rebellious look. "No. She promised." He looked up at her in appeal. "Didn't you, Bella? You promised you'd help me find my mom."

Bella felt awkward and uncomfortable as she shifted her feet. "I'm really sorry, Jacob. I don't think I can help you find her." Her voice faltered as she watched his face crumple.

"You're a liar!" Jacob accused, breaking into tears once more. Wrenching himself away from his father, he took off into the store before either adult could grab him.

Bella and Edward looked at each other for half a heartbeat before taking off after him. By the time they got to the main area, he was nowhere to be found. Edward sighed sadly.

"I'm so sorry about this. My wife died just over a year ago, and Jacob is still having trouble coming to terms with it."

Bella was flooded with compassion for the man next to her. "Well, he couldn't have gotten too far. I'll help you look."

He looked at her earnestly. "You don't have to do that. I'm sure we've taken up enough of your day." His words belied his expression, which clearly told her that he was a man in need of some help.

"It's no problem, I assure you. Besides, it was partly my fault for saying I could help him find his mom."

"It wasn't your fault; anyone could have made the same mistake. I would appreciate the help, though; if you're sure you don't mind."

Bella assured him that she truly did want to help, and they continued their search. Beginning at the closest clothing section, they began hunting through the mounds of clothing hung up for customer perusal. It reminded her of similar experiences from her own childhood. Playing hide-and-seek had been a favorite of hers while being dragged to the large department stores. Huddled among the bright colors, hidden from prying eyes, it was as if she had found a hidden world, a world of her own making.

As she had suspected, it wasn't too much longer before they found Jacob huddled in the middle of a clothes rack. Once again, his cries had given him away as his soft whimpering drew her nearer.

Bella stopped Edward before they got too close, quietly asking if he would mind her attempt to patch things up with him. She wasn't sure why it was so important to her, it wasn't as if she was going to be seeing them again after that day, but it was. Perhaps it was simply because she saw so much of herself in the lost little boy. Comforting instincts that she had never even realized were in her possession overwhelmed her, urging her to do everything in her power to give the poor boy some peace. Settling herself on the floor next to him with the clothes acting as a barrier, Bella began to talk.

"You know, Jake, I lost my mom too when I was younger." The sound of his cries growing quieter told her that he was listening, even if he didn't respond. Bella continued. "She didn't die, though. My mom decided to leave my dad and I. I didn't like it that she was gone, but you know what? I was okay because I knew that my dad loved me so much that he was like having two parents all rolled into one. And that made me feel pretty special. And from what I've seen, I think your dad loves you an awful lot too, so I know that you're going to be alright, just like I was." She paused, waiting for him to respond.

After a few moments, the clothes parted, and Jacob poked his head out to look at her. "Do you really think so?"

Bella smiled. "I do. I really, really do," she said confidently.

Jacob launched his body towards her, wrapping his arms tightly around her neck. Catching her balance, she reciprocated the hug, exchanging a look with Edward over his shoulder. Edward was looking at them, somewhat misty eyed as he mouthed a thank you to her.

When Jacob seemed a bit more settled, Edward helped them both up. Jacob grabbed one hand from each adult, swinging their arms happily. It was a marvel to Bella to see how quickly he had sprung back to being happy after being so upset just a short while ago. Then again, she didn't know enough about children to be able to judge what normal behavior was.

They had barely stepped out of the store when Jacob began to whine about being hungry. Glancing at her watch, she was shocked to realize that it was already early afternoon.

Shopping plans all but forgotten, Bella joined them for lunch at the food court on the irresistible combination of Jacob and Edward insisting that she join them.

Bella and Edward spent the time getting to know each other, finding many common points of interest. Although Bella was very interested in Edward for obvious reasons, it was his interaction with Jacob that tugged at her heart. And surprisingly, she loved getting to know Jacob better too. She had always been so uncomfortable around children in the past, but talking with Jacob felt very natural and easy.

When it was eventually time for them to part ways, all three were very reluctant. Edward haltingly and nervously asked if it would be okay for him to call her, which she happily agreed to. Giving a final hug to Jacob, she whispered that she was sure she'd see him soon. Offering her hand to Edward, she was surprised when he instead pulled her into a hug as well.

"We'll definitely see each other soon," he promised before releasing her.

"I'll hold you to that," she replied with a wink as she pulled back.

"Now that sounds like something I wouldn't mind," he countered with a wink. Gently placing a guiding hand on Jacob's back, he led his son towards the exit.

Bella watched, trying to calm her heart rate over the last unexpected exchange. His call couldn't come too soon, of that she was certain.

**AN I had this idea a while ago as a one shot. I am planning on continuing the story, but I don't have time to consistently update at the moment. When I do have time, I will continue, so feel free to put the story on alert. Thanks for reading! (4/21/10) **


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